Withdrawal from Courses

Students are permitted to withdraw from courses for which they have enrolled in a term until 5 p.m. on the last day of classes before the reading period in that term. Withdrawal from a course can be accomplished only by the submission of a course change notice at the office of the residential college dean. A fee of $20 will be charged for the processing of an approved course change notice on which withdrawal from a course is requested. Formal withdrawal is important, because failure to receive credit for courses in which students are registered will be recorded as F on their transcripts and may open them to the penalties described in Academic Warning and Dismissal for Academic Reasons under Academic Penalties and Restrictions.

1. Transcripts   Each course listed on a student's course schedule appears on the student's transcript unless the student withdraws from the course by midterm. See paragraph 3 below.
2. Permission   All course withdrawals require the permission of the residential college dean.
3. Withdrawal before midterm   If a student formally withdraws from a course by midterm (October 21, 2011, in the fall term; March 2, 2012, in the spring term), then after the registrar has recorded the withdrawal, the transcript will contain no indication of that course.
4. Withdrawal after midterm   If a student formally withdraws from a course after midterm but before 5 p.m. on the last day of classes before the reading period, the transcript will record the course and show the neutral designation W (Withdrew) for the course. The deadlines for such withdrawals are December 2, 2011, in the fall term, and April 23, 2012, in the spring term. The deadlines apply to all courses, whether or not a particular course observes the reading period.
   
   A change of level in courses in which the subject is taught in an ordered progression, as, for example, in foreign languages or in mathematics, is not considered a course withdrawal and does not result in the recording of a W.
5. Withdrawal after the deadlines   After these deadlines, withdrawal from a course is not permitted. An exception will be made only for a student who withdraws from Yale College for medical reasons as certified by the Yale Health Center after the beginning of the reading period but by the last day of the final examination period; in such a case the student will be permitted to withdraw from a course with a mark of W.
6. Lack of formal withdrawal   If, when grades are due, the instructor of a course notifies the registrar that a student has not successfully completed a course from which the student has not formally withdrawn, then a grade of F will be recorded for that course on the student's transcript. See General Regulations concerning Grades and Transcripts under Grades. See also Work Incomplete at the End of Term and Postponement of Final Examinations under Completion of Course Work.
7. Withdrawal from Yale College   A student who has withdrawn from Yale College for any reason, including medical, is no longer enrolled. Consequently, as of the date of the withdrawal, such a student cannot continue to attend classes or complete work that was assigned in the term in which the withdrawal occurred, even if the deadline for such assignments was previously extended by the instructor or by the residential college dean.
8. Transcripts of students withdrawn from Yale College   It follows that if a student withdraws from Yale College by midterm, the transcript will not show that the student has been enrolled in any course during that term. If a student withdraws from Yale College after midterm, but before 5 p.m. on the last day of classes before the reading period, the transcript will record the student's courses with the designation W (Withdrew). If a student withdraws from Yale College after the beginning of the reading period, the transcript will show the student's courses with grades of F unless an instructor reports a passing grade for the student in any of the courses. The only exception is for a student who withdraws from Yale College for medical reasons after the beginning of the reading period but before the end of the term; see paragraph 5 above.